In today's fast-paced and efficiency-driven society, formalism has quietly become a major hidden danger in work and life. It is like a complicated but empty drama that not only consumes our time and energy, but also often makes people feel frustrated and powerless. This superficial hustle and bustle often ends up producing only insignificant results, like "working hard for a while, and the result is a fart".
1.The Suffering of "Volume": Cumbersome Process, Empty Results.
In today's work scene, the phenomenon of "volume" is becoming more and more prominent. The cumbersome process caused by formalism not only consumes our time and energy, but also makes the work results seem hollow. In this culture, simple tasks also become incredibly complex, no longer to achieve goals, but to meet the various forms of requirements in the process.
For example, when a project is called for "brilliant", employees often spend a lot of time on non-core activities such as packaging, furnishing, printing, and reporting. This excessive focus on formality ignores the essence of work. Employees become anxious and tired in response to various formalistic demands, but it is difficult to produce substantive results. This not only reduces productivity, but also erodes the creativity and enthusiasm of employees.
For example, a simple market research that could have been done with precise data analysis and direct market feedback turned into a contest on how to make a beautiful PPT and prepare a gorgeous report. As a result, the report, while glossy, is empty in content, and truly valuable market insights and data analysis are overlooked. In this case, the employee's efforts become a superficial showmanship rather than a real business advancement.
Furthermore, formalism also gave birth to an impetuous attitude towards work. In this culture, people tend to pursue short-term, superficial results rather than long-term, in-depth results. This short-sightedness leads to a lack of long-term strategic planning, and the focus shifts from solving practical problems to meeting formal requirements, thus reducing overall work effectiveness.
2."Cumbersome" tired: repetitive inspections, inefficient management.
Formalism also brings another problem - "complexity". In many organizations, the ever-increasing number of inspections, inspections, and meetings became routine. Although these activities are intended to ensure the smooth running of the work, the excessive frequency and repetition seriously affect the efficiency and quality of the work.
In the case of a local agency, for example, an assistant manager complained that their work schedule was crowded with meetings, causing real business work to be put on hold. In these meetings, a lot of time is spent preparing and presenting debriefings, and very little is actually addressed to the problem. This repetitive, formalized approach to management not only consumes a lot of manpower and material resources, but also deprives staff of time to focus on core tasks.
To make matters worse, this formalistic management style can also trigger resistance among grassroots employees. Due to frequent inspections and unrealistic requirements from superiors, junior employees often feel pressured, and they have to prepare a large amount of information and reports in a short period of time to cope with various inspections. This not only affects their motivation to work, but can also lead to a decrease in the quality of work.
Another example is that some organizations organize a large number of inspections and assessments to showcase their achievements during the creation of a city or other major events. These activities often require a lot of preparation and aftermath work, and take up a lot of manpower and resources. Moreover, because of the frequency and repetition of these activities, staff tend to adopt a coping attitude and superficial preparations rather than actually improve the quality of their work.
3.The harm of "virtuality": quick success and quick profit, and the atmosphere of fraud.
Formalism can also lead to the problem of "virtuality", that is, in the pursuit of superficial results, false data and results are produced. Under such pressure, some departments and individuals may choose to take shortcuts and meet the demands of their superiors by fabricating grades.
For example, some organizations may exaggerate their achievements or even create false work reports when conducting annual performance reviews. While such behaviour may be sanctioned by superiors in the short term, it can seriously damage the credibility and efficiency of the organization in the long run. Employees lose motivation and enthusiasm for their work because they know that their efforts will not be truly evaluated and recognized.
This quick-win way of working can also lead to poor decision-making. Due to the inauthenticity of the data and reports, decision-makers cannot accurately understand what is actually going on and make the wrong decisions. In the long run, this kind of decision-making based on disinformation can have a serious impact on the health of an organization.
The disadvantages of formalism are manifold, and it not only affects the efficiency and quality of work, but can also lead to mistrust and poor decision-making within the organization. To break this situation, we need to establish a more authentic and effective working mechanism that encourages innovation and the production of tangible results, rather than just being satisfied with formal performance. Only in this way can our work truly realize its value and make greater contributions to the development of society.
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